MADRID: People in Barcelona had to do a double take on Friday when former President Barack Obama, Michelle Obama and film maker Steven Spielberg joined the throngs of tourists to visit some of the city’s main sites - albeit with added security.

The trio were in Barcelona to attend a concert by pal Bruce Springsteen at Barcelona’s Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium on Friday night.

Obama, Spielberg and Springsteen dined at the Amar restaurant in the Palace Hotel on Thursday. Staff member Pol Perello uploaded a photo of them posing with wait staff and chefs to Instagram with the comment “the pleasure this job brings you!.”

On Friday, the Obamas and Spielberg took in some of Barcelona’s most famous cultural sights. Stops on the tour were set to include the Sagrada Familia basilica, designed by Antoni Gaudi, and the Picasso museum.

Spanish news outlets showed the former president and first lady walking hand in hand through central Barcelona surrounded by a large group of security guards.

Obama and Springsteen first met on the presidential campaign trail in 2008. In 2021, they hosted a podcast that spawned a book “Renegades: Born in the USA.”